i started taking prevagen about three years ago. i feel clearer in my thoughts, my memory has improved and generally just more on point. prevagen. at stores everywhere without a prescription. speaker in jeopardy again. mike johnson releasing the details of his plan to send aid to allies like israel and

ukraine, setting up a face-off with hardliners in his own party. could it cost him his job? the showdown over reproductive rights continues in arizona. republicans blocking an effort to overturn a near ban on abortion, super charging efforts to put the issue on the ballot. donald trump expected back in court today as jury selection in his hush money trial continues. another recall at trader joe's. the salmonella outbreak linked to fresh herbs sold at the grocery chain, affecting more than half the country. and how one boxing gym is creating a safe haven for kids in underserved communities and make them champions of both the ring and in life. it's thursday, april 18. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm frances rivera. donald trump will be back inside

a manhattan courtroom today for day three of his new york criminal hush money trial. jury selection will resume in just a few hours. seven have been selected, a total of 18 are needed for the case. the former president said he is willing to take the witness stand. in a new court filing, the manhattan d.a. says they plan to ask mr. trump about other verdicts he's faced, including the judgment in his new york civil fraud case, and in the e. jean carroll defamation case. now to another dramatic day for congress. senate democrats quickly rejecting impeachment articles for the dhs secretary. but that showdown was overshadowed by the house speaker releasing details of a new national security package. ryan nobles has the latest from capitol hill. >> reporter: an impeachment showdown in the senate. with democrats essentially dismissing charges against homeland security secretary

alejandro mayorkas in a matter of hours, arguing the impeachment by house republicans was unconstitutional. >> to validate this gross abuse by the house would be a grave mistake and could set a dangerous precedent for the future. >> reporter: but republicans blasting the move to not hold a trial. arguing democrats are defying hundreds of years of senate precedent. >> this process must not be abused. it must not be short circuited. history will not judge this moment well. >> reporter: house republicans accuse mayorkas of willfully ignoring immigration laws with a record 9.3 million migrants crossing into the u.s. during the biden administration. mayorkas calls the accusations baseless. democrats say there's no impea impeachable offense. meanwhile house speaker johnson facing off with his own party, releasing his plan for aid to israel, ukraine and taiwan in three separate packages, combined it would provide $95

billion in funding and is similar to the senate bill that bundled the bills together. though in ukraine's case, it is in the form of loans, not grants. but bringing aid to the floor is putting johnson's job in danger. >> i don't think we should be throwing $95 billion overseas when we have wide open borders and people in danger. >> reporter: johnson arguing the stakes around the world are too high. >> i'm doing here what i believe to be the right thing. i think providing lethal aid to ukraine right now is critically important. >> reporter: speaker johnson has said he will allow lawmakers 72 hours to review the text for the bill funding taiwan, israel and ukraine. they will likely need democratic votes to pass. and then the focus will shift to whether or not republicans will move to boot johnson from his job. >> ryan, thank you. arizona republicans are once

again blocking efforts to repeal a near total abortion ban. earlier this month, the state supreme court giving the green light to revive the ban written in 1864. the ban would take effect in less than two months. here's alex talbot. >> reporter: in arizona, a surge of signatures. >> there's lines to sign. we can hardly switch the petitions out fast enough. >> reporter: the effort to enshrine abortion rights into the state's constitution super charged after a near abortion ban from 1864 is enforceable. >> one of our volunteers at one of our locals, they were filling a page per hour for our petition. >> reporter: chris love is a spokesperson for arizona for abortion access. a coalition of reproductive rights organizations that's working to get a referendum on the ballot that would allow abortion until fetal viability or 24 weeks of pregnancy.

>> this is the only way or the most durable way to protect abortion rights in the state. >> reporter: in the weeks since the arizona supreme court's ruling, love's organization says interest has skyrocketed. in the last week alone, they say they received more than 5300 small-dollar donations. almost 2,000 more volunteers and thousands more signatures. including 2200 signatures notarized in just an hour earlier this week. >> the pace that we haven't seen in quite a while. >> reporter: earlier this month, arizona for abortion access announced it already gathered more than half a million signatures. that's 120,000 more than they need to make it on the ballot in november, but they're not leaving anything to chance. >> we are going to collect signatures until the wheels fall off, quite frankly. >> reporter: meanwhile, republicans in the state legislature are trconsidering pushing their own measures.

a leaked gop strategy document outlines a plan to give voters options for other constitutional amendments, and it's a plan that's already been floated by kari lake. >> i think our lawmakers need to do something quickly. i don't know if that's putting another initiative on the ballot to give people options. >> our thanks to alex for that report. turning to deadly weather on the arabian peninsula. record rainfall soaked dubai with parts of the united arab emirates seeing 24 inches of rain in ten hours, more than they usually get in two years. let's bring in claudio lavanga. how has this impacted the region? >> reporter: good morning, frances. after that record downpour, it became quite clear that dubai was not built for, nor is it ready for that kind of rain. now at least one man, authorities say, was killed after his car was swept away, and thousands of passengers were

stranded at a main airport after all flights were grounded. all schools were closed across the country and workers have been advised to work remotely if they can. now, experts are pointing the finger of course to climate change. but there is one meteorologist in dubai who says it was partly caused by rain seeding, which is a method used thiin dry countri. but experts say they didn't perform any rain seeding during that weather. it affected oman where at least 18 people were killed. >> a fascinating back story of what might have caused it. claudio, thank you. millions of americans on alert this morning as severe weather we've been watching sweeps into a new day. dozens of tornados tore through the midwest this week. in michigan, lawmakers evacuating the house chamber as tornado alerts went off. and these storms are far from over. more than 20 million on alert as

this multi-day threat stretches into this morning. nbc meteorologist angie lassman has her eye on it all. good morning, angie. >> this next storm system we're watching is what's causing some of these stronger storms to already pop up in parts of the plains. places like kansas city, st. joseph, missouri in the cross hairs of this system as a severe thunderstorm watch remains in effect for the next couple hours. extends all the way into parts of texas, dallas and waco included in that, and up towards indianapolis. from texas up into the midwest, we're looking at all threats possible for 26 million people. as we look ahead to the weekend, we turn our attention to rain. we're going to see a stalled front, start to see a new area of low pressure develop along it. this means we've got plenty of rain in the picture for saturday, too across much of the south. it will eventually exit but not before dumping a whole lot of rain. we've got the flash flooding currency cross texas, san

antonio, dallas and houston. and this stretches to the southeast as we ge up fromarto the 90s a high of 90 degrees. coming up, who made the cut for time's 100 list. and back with a boxing program helping kids punch their ticket to a better future. ch thr ticket to a better future. bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing at the movies!? hashtag still not coughing?! ahh! mucinex dm 12 hour doesn't just quiet coughs,

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maya brown has more on these underdogs. >> reporter: kids at a new jersey boxing gym are not only learning how to become champions in the ring but also champions in life. >> you get comfortable. you dig in. >> reporter: the program is teaching kids from underserved communities the importance of discipline, drive and vision, free of charge. coach jackie atkins founded the non-profit organization in 2012 to provide kids a home away from home. >> it's a place where children can come. they learn healthy lifestyles. we help them academically with their schoolwork. >> reporter: jackie is a new jersey boxing hall of fame nominee, who has welcomed more than 400 children into the program. many have been bullied at school, low self-esteem or difficult situations at home. at the gym she sees them grow

with every situation. what does it mean to see them put those boxing gloves on and get to training? >> first you have to earn these gloves. earning these gloves means showing up on a regular basis, giving it your all. it's a sense of accomplishment. it's empowering. >> reporter: brian rojas struggled with his body image when he first joined the gym at 7 years old. now at 13, he credits his newfound confidence to the program. >> when i first became here, i felt really ashamed of myself, like my body, i didn't feel comfortable. i didn't really want to wear revealing clothes. >> reporter: like many kids in the program, he sees jackie as a second mom. >> she's such a nice person. she made me feel comforting. she's the sweetest person i've ever known. >> reporter: recent studies show kids who participate in sports have lower stress levels.

coaches make time to help with homework and one-on-one tutoring the program currently has 100% high school graduation rate. >> educate, empower, embrace. that's a tremendous, tremendous positive impact to have on anyone's life. >> reporter: leyla started the program when she was just 10 years old. when she first joined, she was shy and wouldn't make eye contact. now 22, she's learned speaking up can lead to great things. >> when you come here you're able to punch a bag or exercise and let out all your frustrations and forget about those things. >> reporter: now coach jackie is supporting leyla on her journey to medical school. >> i never imagined her coming back after all these years and coming to me, saying hey, can you write a letter of recommendation, knowing that she's achieved so much. it makes my heart smile. >> reporter: whether or not kids compete and go on to nationals, coach jackie says she makes sure all the kids know they are all

equally important and special in their own way. >> i've learned that our children are all very different, and i love the difference because i love learning. i love learning their personalities and find ways that i can help el valt and enhance their life. >> wow. truly a life-saving program there. life-changing, i should say. that was maya brown reporting for nbc academy. focussing on advancing careers in journalism, media and tech. watch the skies. steven spielberg is set up one last close encounter. more on the just-announced film after this. e just-announced fil after this. es. then i switch back to my regular shampoo. you should use it every wash, otherwise the flakes will come back. tiny troy: he's right, you know. is that tiny troy? the ingredients in head and shoulders keep the microbes that cause flakes at bay. microbes, really? they're always on your scalp... little rascals... but good news, there's no itchiness,

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517, do you want to report an ufo, over? >> negative. we don't want to report. >> it's a classic, and one of our greatest creative minds is returning to genre that made him famous. variety reported wednesday that steven spielberg will direct a new film about ufos. the oscar winner has helmed some of the famous flicks with aliens, including "e.t." and "close encounters." when we talk about spielberg and everything he's doing, variety also announced he's collaborating with martin scorsese for a cape fear series, based off the 1962 original. >> powerhouse, you put those two together, something great is going to be maide. and singapore's high rollers are coming to the great white way. there will be a broadway

adaptation. it is set to be based on the film and best-selling series of books. he has brought "in the heights" and is gearing up for the "wicked" adaptation later this fall. so many people, s excited for "wicked". if this show is anything like the movie, it's going to be fun to watch. that's what "crazy rich asians" was. athletes, political leaders, they're all right there. "time" magazine releasedity list of 100 most influential people of 2024. you've got patrick mahomes, taraji p. henson. each entry in the list features

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mike is still living in the red. with a very high risk of another heart attack or stroke. he doesn't know with his risk factors his ldl-c (bad cholesterol) is still too high - the recommended level is below 55. are you living in the red? get in the know. learn how to get a free ldl-c test at attackheartdisease.com. we're back with what you need to know "early today." ford is recalling more than 456,000 bronco sport and maverick vehicles over a battery issue that can cause a loss of drive power and increase the risk of a crash. impacted models include bronco model years 2021 through 2024 and maverick years 2022 through 2023. public health officials have linked fresh basil sold at trader joe's to a salmonella

outbreak that sickened people. it's been removed from shelves in 29 states and washington, d.c. eli lilly says zepbound could help treat sleep apnea. a new study shows mentally-stimulating jobs may reduce the risk of dementia. people who arehad the least mentally challenging jobs had a higher risk of dementia. a higher risk of dementia. to attract and trap flying insects with no odor and no mess. they work continuously, so you don't have to. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly. ahh. it's a good day to cough. oh no. bye, bye cough. later chest congestion. hello 12 hours of relief. 12 hours!! not coughing at the movies!? hashtag still not coughing?!

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they're transforming some of the sites to the stage for the summer games. >> reporter: 100 game before its first olympics in 100 years. venues now visible from the eiffel tower, the seine, as officials allay fears over security and pollution. will the river be ready? there's a little bit of concern. >> for every big event, you have to think about contingency plans. that's part of our work. >> reporter: construction is under way at thisstunning beach volleyball venue. just a month ago this wasn't even here. by late june, there'll be seating for 13,000 people underneath the eiffel tower. while, in the historic plaza deconcord they're readying for skateboarding and break dancing. jager eaton hopes to be there. >> i'm ready to be competing in

the jersey. >> reporter: equestrians will go for gold while riding past golden horses. the olympic flame en route. a massive police operation under way. >> i found out there were 165 applican16 165 applicants, and i was picked! coast guard crews are commended after airlifting a pregnant woman from a cruise ship in the caribbean. the disney ship was 180 miles from puerto rico when a call for a medevac came in. the guard quickly deployed a helicopter hoisting the pregnant woman and the ship's doctor and getting her to a san juan hospital. the competency displayed by

disney's crew and coast guard personnel made all the difference. what if i told you, she's a mastermind? swifties once again in their sleuthing era, after a mysterious qr mural shopped up in chicago. look at this right here. it's filled with the letters ttpd and the number 13. so many say those are clues that they're an invisible string tying the art to taylor swift's upcoming album tortured poet's department. it leads to a message on swift's page, error, 321. and

breaking right now at 5:00, a deadly police shooting involveding a homicide